Alwaght- Thousands of Bahrainis have staged demonstrations across the Persian Gulf island in solidarity with the Palestinian people on the occasion of International Quds Day, and demanded expulsion of the Israeli ambassador to Manama in response to Israeli forces’ incursions into al-Aqsa Mosque and violent attacks on Palestinian worshipers.
Demonstrators took to the streets in the villages of Abu Saiba, Shakhura, Ma'ameer, al-Musalla, Shahrakan, Dumistan and Nuwaidrat on Friday to condemn heinous crimes committed by the Israeli regime against the Palestinian nation and urge the international community not to keep silent on the issue.
People also staged a rally in Bilad al-Qadeem suburb of the capital, Manama, to mark the International Quds Day and express their support for Palestinians.
In another protest rally in Sitra Island, which lies 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) south of Manama, people marched along streets to voice their solidarity with the Palestinian nation.
The demonstrators carried various placards, reading “Israel! Your house is that of a spider [fragile],” “West Bank is the shield of al-Quds” and “Bahraini nation rejects normalization” in Arabic.
The Bahraini protesters once again expressed their fierce opposition to normalization of relations between Manama and Tel Aviv, and underscored their support for the Palestinian issue and the resistance of its people against the occupying Israeli regime.
The demonstrators emphasized that they will continue to fervently support the oppressed Palestinian nation against the barbaric Israeli atrocities, and will never abandon the issue of Palestine as the foremost and principal issue of the Muslim world.
They also called for the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador from Bahrain and the rejection of any cooperation with the Tel Aviv regime.
Every year on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan, worldwide rallies are held to commemorate the Palestinian people’s resistance against Israel and their struggle to liberate their territories, which have been occupied by Israel for decades.
The annual event is seen as an opportunity for freedom-seeking people across the world, regardless of faith, to voice their support for the Palestinian cause and vent their anger against the apartheid regime in Tel Aviv, which has occupied Palestinian territories since 1967.
The International Quds Day is among the legacies of the late founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Imam Khomeini, who is revered as a spiritual leader by Muslims across the world. Back in 1979, shortly after leading an Islamic Revolution which toppled the US-backed Shah of Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini named the last Friday of the fasting month of Ramadan the Quds Day.
Since the start of the holy month of Ramadan, the Israeli regime has imposed strict restrictions on the entry and exit of Palestinians to and from the gates of al-Aqsa Mosque. Amid heightened tensions with Palestinian worshipers, Israeli settlers also press ahead with their frequent incursions and provocative rituals at the holy site.
The resistance movements in Gaza and elsewhere have vowed to confront the Israeli regime on multiple fronts.
On April 6, at least 30 rockets were reportedly launched from southern Lebanon into the Israeli-occupied territories in retaliation against the Israeli aggression against al-Aqsa. Resistance fighters based in Gaza also fired several rockets toward the occupied territories.
Palestinian sources said the regime’s Iron Dome failed to intercept most of the retaliatory rockets. Following the rocket attack, Israeli warplanes hit targets inside Gaza and positions of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas in Lebanon.
